In this tutorial, you'll learn how to set up a serverless function on Google Cloud Functions to automatically clear the Cloudflare cache after a successful deployment of your static site on Netlify.
An Evening Walk
It was really nice out this evening, so Ayaka and I went on a short walk after dinner. I don't remember the last time we went out walking alone at night, but it was probably back in Japan last year.
Live Webinar – Host a Zoom Concert with MainStage
A few weeks ago, I published a post on how to host a Zoom concert with MainStage. Since then, the post has gotten thousands of views, and I've received dozens of questions about the setup process.
If you missed the webinar on June 6, 2020, feel free to check out the recorded video here. Also, be sure to subscribe to my mailing list if you want to be notified about future webinars!
Finally Friday
Wow, what a long week! Over the past few days, I spent a lot of time preparing for my Kinsta webinar next week. It was a lot of work, but I'm very happy about the presentation I put together. If you're interested in learning about WordPress performance, I encourage you to register for the free webinar.
Summer is Almost here
The weather over here in Massachusetts was super nice today, so I clocked out half an hour early to get some Vitamin D outside with Ayaka and J. One thing I've struggled with lately is getting creative with my camera. Part of me feels guilty because I acquired a Leica Q2 a few months ago, and have only used it a handful of times since. Back in Tokyo, there were always interesting things to capture around the city. Now that we're taking shelter in an American suburb, finding subjects to photograph can be difficult.
Team Muramatsu
A little known fact about me is I used to be a very serious flute player. Back in high school, I was in the all-state band. In college, I played in the wind ensemble for a few years as well. I don't recall why I originally gravitated towards the flute, but I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it for many years.
After college, I stopped playing because I constantly felt burnt out from working in the music industry. When it came time to relax, the last thing I wanted to do was sit down and practice flute. Shutting off my brain and playing video games seemed like a much better option back then.
Looking back, I regret not maintaining my flute chops over the years. The flute is the perfect instrument for a frequent traveler like me – it's an extremely expressive instrument in a very small package. I wish I brought a flute along with me on all my travels over the past few years
In high school and college, I played on a Pearl Quantz 765, a decent intermediate level flute. Before purchasing it, I tried a bunch of different flutes including a 14K gold one – not that I could afford it. After my flute trials, I ended up really loving the Muramatsu EX. Unfortunately, at $4,700, it was too expensive for my parents at the time, so I settled for the Pearl. Nothing against Pearl! I loved my 765, but it didn't give me the same feeling as the Muramatsu.
Fast forward to 2020, and my joy for playing music has returned. I'm sure leaving the music industry in my professional life helped with that. Lately, I've been playing the piano quite often. I've also felt a longing to start playing the flute again. Now that I'm a dad, I also hope to inspire J to learn about music as soon as possible. Since we travel so often, I figured getting good at the flute again would be a good idea because a piano certainly doesn't fit in a suitcase.
Long story short, I have a Muramatsu DS flute on the way thanks to the Flute Center of New York. A solid silver handmade flute like the Muramatsu DS will last a lifetime, and I hope to pass it on to J someday if flute ends being a passion of his. I don't purchase many things, so for the things that I actually open up my wallet for, I want the best. For me, there's no flute better than a Muramatsu.
My goal for 2020 is to get good at the flute again and start posting cover videos on YouTube by the end of the year. Stay tuned!
Slack is Down →
The Verge:
No, it’s wasn’t just you. Slack indeed went down due to an outage of some sort that appeared to have begun some time around 7:30PM ET. User-reported issues spiked on DownDetector.com, and the app was largely inaccessible, with posts not getting marked as read or not going through at all. The issues affected both the mobile and desktop versions of the app. Slack says it’s in the process of resolving the issue, but connectivity problems remain for some users.
The entire world just suddenly got a whole less productive. Global outages like these ones really put our reliance on technology platforms into perspective.
My Podcasting Setup
One of my goals for 2020 was to start a podcast. Five months in, I'm now co-hosting three podcasts – Various Artists, The RHIZOME Report, and TezTalks Radio. Over the past few weeks, my podcasts have started to gain some traction, and I've received a few questions about my podcasting setup. I'm actually in the process of writing an in-depth guide on how to get started with podcasting, but I thought it would be cool to write a quick post about my personal setup.
WP Engine Launches Genesis Pro →
WP Tavern:
Managed web hosting company WP Engine launched the new Genesis Pro add-on for customers of its hosting service today. The add-on brings additional block editor features for users who are using a Genesis-based WordPress theme.
The add-on includes a robust set of options that are primarily aimed at helping users build their webpages with custom blocks and designs. The following features are the foundation of the add-on:
- Block Library: Includes 17 custom blocks, such as a testimonial and pricing block.
- Page Layouts: Offers 22 full layouts for product, portfolio, team, and other pages.
- Content Sections: Adds 38 customizable content sections.
- Permissions System: Allows admins to set editing permissions on a per-block basis.
- Customization: Users can create and share custom sections and layouts with content creators.
Believe it or not, I used to be a huge Genesis fan. In fact, several earlier incarnations of this blog were built on top of the Genesis framework. I was originally drawn to the Genesis framework because I was looking for a lightweight and minimalist theme to use as a foundation for a custom child theme. Back then, the two contenders were Genesis and Thesis. After testing out both frameworks, I liked Genesis a lot more.
The idea of having a foundational layer that took care of basic WordPress housekeeping items was appealing to me. I only wanted to focus on my blog's looks. I didn't have much interest in making sure it was SEO-compliant. Genesis excelled at staying out of the way, and I really liked that.
Since WP Engine's acquisition of StudioPress, I've lost interest in using Genesis on my WordPress sites for a few reasons. The Genesis community doesn't feel the same anymore. Back then, things felt very grassroots and I liked that. Brian Gardner, the founder of StudioPress, was constantly in touch with users and customers – that kind of interaction is irreplaceable. Lastly, there was a huge focus on minimalism which appealed to me – this was mostly the work of Brian Gardner who now runs a minimalism blog.
The post-acquisition direction of Genesis goes against its core values. Features like a variety of page layouts, permissions systems, and a large library of Gutenberg blocks isn't something that's needed in a framework that preaches minimalism. The fractured vision of the product gives off mixed signals, and it makes consumers uncertain about what they're buying into. If feature bloat is going to be StudioPress' new product strategy, I think a site redesign to move away from minimalist ideals is in order.
Adding Next and Previous Post Links in Hugo
Today, I decided to add next and previous post links to the bottom corners of my single page template in Hugo. I purposely made them "fixed" to ensure people would see them even if they don't scroll all the way to the bottom of the page.